As often happens with restaurant openings, Pizza Fusion kept moving their opening date out again and again. By the time the doors opened in late 2009, zpizza locations in the burbs were nipping at their heels and my local pizza joint (Pepperoni’s in Duluth) had just started offering gluten-free pizza. It seemed like every month that followed the Pizza Fusion opening brought a new gluten-free pizza to the Atlanta dining scene. While it’s true that the location was not counting only on gluten-free consumers to make the business profitable, in other markets where they reign supreme, they are well known for heavily catering to the gluten-free crowd. Hence, my excitement about the pizza place finally opening in this area.

Very shortly after the Pizza Fusion location opened in Midtown, they hosted a gluten-free dinner club event there. For the most part, attendees loved the food and a great time was had by all. The owner, Jeff, even closed the location down just for our event. We did not pay a rental fee or a party fee – nothing. Event attendees just paid for their food and drinks. The owner even worked up a super low price for a buffet style meal for the group. That night proved that yes, the rumors were true. Pizza Fusion without question, caters to the gluten-free crowd.

Having gluten-free pizza in NYC, where almost every joint makes fresh crusts is not the best idea in the world unless you live there. Risotteria and Mozzarelli’s gluten-free pizzas are not just great for gluten-free – they are some of the best pizzas we’d had in NYC. Obviously, a frozen crust, which is what is served in this market, including at Pizza Fusion, is not going to compare to what we’d had in the Big Apple. Everyone has different tastes and I wasn’t in love with the gluten-free crust that Pizza Fusion served here. We had bad luck on several occasions where the middle of the pizza was not done and the ends were fine or the ends were too tough to eat if the middle was done. When we took gluten eating friends there and their gluten pizza was extremely overdone on the ends, we knew the issue was not related to the gluten-free crusts. There seemed to be something wrong with either the ovens or the pizza baker during each of our visits there.

The owner worked hard with the staff on trying to get the pizzas cooked correctly, but the best pizzas we had at Pizza Fusion were made with a small round crust cut out of the huge oval crust. That made the difference between having a pizza that wasn’t so great to having one that was pretty good.  Many gluten-free people here rave about the gluten-free pizza and vegan brownies that Pizza Fusion serves. Yet again, even the brownies we had were always overdone, except during the dinner club event. I think most people who went to Pizza Fusion really enjoyed it. Certainly, if my local pizza joint didn’t serve excellent gluten-free pizza, pasta and chicken tenders, we would have made the trek to Pizza Fusion more often.

Some of the complaints I heard about the Pizza Fusion concept were that people wanted to order a Coke and they didn’t care that the paint used in the place was non toxic. This consumer does care about those things and the naturally gluten-free Boylan’s sodas that Pizza Fusion serves are simply delicious. However, it would have been nice to be able to order hot tea or coffee during cold weather. Niether is offered at Pizza Fusion.

When Foodie Bhuddha tweeted that Pizza Fusion was for sale and might close soon several months back, I thought the news was sad but not that surprising. Pizza Fusion closed their doors in Atlanta on March 8th. Apparently the owner didn’t find a buyer for the business and a new grandchild in CA was calling him and his wife home to be with family. According to the corporate office of Pizza Fusion, they hope to open another location in Atlanta eventually.

The pricey location might have had something to do with the downfall for the Atlanta location, but it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Pizza Fusion been the only gluten-free pizza game in town for a while. It would be quite environmentally unfriendly for people to drive over 20 miles to have pizza in town when they could have gluten-free pizza around the corner from their home. Pizza Fusion’s mission statement is “saving the earth, one pizza at a time”, after all.

Special thanks to Joy Johnston for the news about Pizza Fusion!

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When the Five guys near us opened, I had to have a meal from there right away. My husband noticed the “Now Open” sign on his way to work and told me about it. I’d been calling the store asking when they would open and I knew it was going to be soon. On his way home from work, my husband picked up dinner (to-go) at Five Guys. He ordered me fries and a bunless burger with cheese. Unfortunately, not only did all the cheese come off when I unwrapped the burger, my husband ran off the road and hit a speed limit sign when the Five Guys bag fell over on his car floor board. The repairs to the car ran over $4000, but thankfully no one was hurt. I would love to find someone else who can beat my record of enjoying what might be the most expensive gluten-free meal ever.

Even though I love the fries and burgers at Five Guys, we don’t eat much red meat and it’s really a hassle to get a cheeseburger to-go from there without losing the cheese when you unwrap the burger. One time my husband took in a plastic container for them to put my cheeseburger in, but they could not take the container over the counter. You would have thought he has planted a bomb in it, but I understand companies have rules in place regarding such things.

There is some information in the Men’s Health post about Five Guys fries that I agree with. One regular order of fries is plenty for two people to share. At least it is in our house. Due to us not eating much read meat, having Five Guys is a very occasional treat for us in the first place. If we want to have some full fat French fries cooked in peanut oil about once a quarter, I think we’ll live.

It’s quite odd that McDonald’s fries were chosen to be the healthiest in the Men’s Health article since there are a lot of not-so-healthy ingredients in the fries there. Many gluten-free people avoid fries from the giant fast food chain due to the controversy over them possibly not being gluten-free. Even if they are gluten-free and cooked in a dedicated fryer, there is always a risk the rogue gluten chicken nugget makes its way into the fryer by mistake. Eat French fries out at your own risk – except at Five Guys!

Wouldn’t it be terrific if Five Guys started offering gluten-free buns made from Udi’s (when they become available)?

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Many people are excited with the new gluten-free offerings and even I have to admit that they are certainly plentiful. However, seeing packages of cookies and KIND bars (the latter of which is always in my car storage compartment) somehow isn’t floating the boat of this gluten-free consumer. When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, it was kind of hard for me to meet one of my girlfriends at Starbucks. She has a real sweet tooth and of course if I wanted something to eat there, I had to have food in my purse. Finally, we eventually stopped meeting there because I just did not enjoy it anymore. The funny thing is that when I ate gluten, I might have purchased something to eat during 10% of my visits there. What bothered me was that the dessert case was full of items I could not longer eat and I didn’t understand, and still don’t, why at least ONE of them could not be gluten-free. Worried about cross contamination? Keep the gluten-free cake wrapped in plastic in the case – problem solved.

At a few of the stores in our area, the Starbucks employees didn’t get what gluten-free meant and didn’t understand why the cake was wrapped in plastic so they removed the cake from the package and placed them on a tray inside the pastry case. Most of the people I know that can’t eat gluten would probably skip buying the cake if they walked into the store and saw the cake unwrapped in the case with all the gluten items. The cakes had no expiration date on them but in fact, the company employees reported that they went bad very quickly. In our area, people thought there were hairs in the cake but it was just the orange oil breaking down. It was fairly unappetizing to say the least. When online posts started up about hair in the gluten-free cake at Starbucks, I remember thinking that it would likely be dropped from the line-up fairly soon.

Since I want to support the efforts of Starbucks, I decided that I would at least take a look at all the new gluten-free items they’d brought in. i was not going to kill the environment by driving there just to do this but I’d look if I was in the vicinity of a Starbucks. The first two places I checked had nothing in terms of gluten-free snacks. Finally, at the location on the Decatur square, I found most of the new gluten-free snacks. I thought the store did a great job with the display of the items. As I stood in line to order a coffee, I noticed the pastry case that was full of some of the most delicious looking pastries I’d seen in a long time. Buying a bag of cookies, a KIND bar, some dried fruit (or fruit leathers) or granola suddenly seemed out of the question. Ordering a delicious Mocha satisfied my sweet craving just fine, so at least the visit wasn’t a complete waste of time.

It occurred to me that some others might feel the same way about these new gluten-free options at Starbucks. The overwhelming majority of people seem to be satisfied and I truly wish I could get excited about them myself. Do any of our readers wish that Starbucks would have offered something decadent and FRESH tasting – instead of all the pre-packaged items now in their extensive gluten-free line up?

You are reading What Do You Think of the Gluten-free Offerings at Starbucks?. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

While in SC recently, I finally picked up a gRAWnola bar. I was rather skeptical about the taste at first, because the bar seems to be free of everything – gluten, wheat, soy, peanuts and processed sugar. There are no dairy ingredients listed either and the owner of the company confirmed the bars are also dairy-free. Not sure why that important distinction is not on the gRAWnola website.  As you can see from the all natural, whole, raw ingredients listed below, this is a pretty clean bar.

Ingredients: pumpkin seeds*^¤, apples*, pecans^¤, dates*, almonds^¤, walnuts^¤, raisins*, buckwheat*^¤, agave*, lemon*, lime*, cinnamon*, Celtic sea salt*, orange oil*, vanilla bean*  *Organic  ^¤Sprouted

Buckwheat is really healthy, but I find that I rarely like it in gluten-free replacement products like pancakes or breads. It’s not as bad as the flavor of flaxseed to me but it’s close. It’s terrible when you don’t like healthy things like flax and buckwheat, but life is short and I try and avoid foods that have unappealing flavors to me. Flax can be hidden in some things for me, but my husband can spot flax from a mile away. He can almost look at something and figure out there is flax in it. Several times I’ve had him try something, not telling him it contained flax and at first bite he says “this has flax in it, doesn’t it?”.

The first thing I noticed when holding the gRAWnola bar was that is was not hard which is a big plus for me. When I opened it there was a familiar smell that I could not place right away. The first bite actually took me back in time, when I routinely snacked on Fig Newton cookies as a child.  There is no cookie coating to the bar so it’s not exactly like the traditional gluten cookie. However, the flavor is pretty much as I remember the old fashioned Fig Newtons to be. Since there are nuts in the bar, the texture is somewhat different from Fig Newtons as well. gRAWnola bars are healthy, delicious and really more of a treat type bar than any I’ve tried before. It’s like getting to enjoy a gluten-free version of a Fig Newton, without loading up on fake ingredients or loads of sodium. Oh, and I can not taste the buckwheat in them, which scores really big points with this taste tester.

To find out where you can find gRAWola bars near you, check this listing. The store locator on the company’s website is not complete at this time. In the Atlanta area you can find the bars at Natural Foods Warehouse (only Alpharetta), Sevananda, Nuts-N-Berries and Return to Eden.  The Chef at The Shed at Glenwood told me about Sevananda recently and said it’s worth checking out but I have not gotten over there yet. gRAWnola bars are available in various stores in 14 states presently but my guess is they’ll be available nationwide very soon.

You are reading Product Review: gRAWnola Gluten-free Bars. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

Delight gluten free magazine is a new magazine that rolled out early in 2009. I was honored to be contacted by the magazine to be a contributing writer. Though much of the magazine is devoted to wonderful gluten-free and gluten-free/dairy-free recipes, my articles focus on travel and dining out. Those are the two things that so many told me were not possible anymore, due to my celiac diagnosis. Not only did I find out that wasn’t true, some of the best trips and meals out I’ve ever had came along after my gluten-free journey began. When someone tells me I can’t do something that I want to do, it’s great fuel for me to do exactly what I want to do. For that reason, I really appreciate all the naysayers I encountered in the beginning of my gluten-free journey.

One of the most amazing contributors at Delight gluten free magazine is Sally Parrot Ashbrook. Anyone who learns about all of Sally’s food intolerances might think twice about complaining about having to avoid just gluten. Sally is inspiring in the way she took on so many food challenges and created a beautiful and delicious life out of them. Here contributions to the magazine are something I look very much forward to in each issue.

The Lifestyle Editor at the magazine, Vanessa Maltin, is actually attending culinary school and did an in depth article about the trials of her amazing adventure in the last issue.  Her review of Nebo Restaurant in Boston made me mapquest how far it was from NYC. I can’t imagine visiting the Big Apple again and not taking a detour to Boston to experience the magic of Nebo. You might recognize Vanessa’s name from her great work at the NFCA and her wonderful book Beyond Rice Cakes.

Celiac-Disease.com’s own Tiffany Jakubowski, another great Delight contributor, worked the Got Guts 5K celiac event in Austin for the magazine, which she wrote about here. With a subscription price of only $18, Delight gluten-free is quite a value as far as gluten-free publications go. But the most exciting news of all is that the magazine is now available in all Whole Foods, Borders and Barne & Nobles bookstores. So, if people want to pick up just a single copy and see if it’s something of interest to them, they don’t have to order a full subscription. Single back issues are also available on Delight’s website. Several health foods stores (and support groups) carry it as well so if you don’t live near one of the large retailers, check this listing for outlets in your area.

The magazine is rolling out on delivery trucks to subscribers and retail outlets this week. It takes a while for stores to inventory and stock the shelves so look for it in stores around March 22nd. The list of hospitals and doctors offices that subscribe to the publication is now up to about 600 which is also very exciting. If you pick up the Spring issue, be sure to check out my travel article which reveals the best place for the gluten-free set to be hospitalized in the South. When I looked for the Holiday issue at my Whole Foods, it had already sold out – just a couple of days after it hit the magazine rack. Luckily, the company increased their order for the Spring issue.

You are reading Delight Gluten-free Magazine Goes National!. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

Obviously, there are people with celiac disease that follow the gluten-free diet in order to alleviate symptoms that eating gluten might cause them, and to be healthier overall. But that is likely the smallest percentage of people on the diet in this country. If only 10% (or less) of the 3 million Americans estimated to have celiac know they have it, that’s only about 300,000 people. That number does not a booming food market make, of course.

Possibly the largest group of consumers on the diet are those that are gluten intolerant. Another name for this condition is non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Because most of those people have no official diagnosis, there is no way to count how many of them there are in the U.S. Many of them put themselves on the gluten-free diet when traditional medicine channels failed to help them figure out what was wrong with them. It’s likely that many of those people have actual celiac disease, but they will never be able to confirm it since most people are not willing to do a gluten challenge in order to be tested for celiac. Plus, celiac experts now agree that they are not exactly sure how much gluten is enough to get conclusive test results anyway.

Then we have what some of us call trendy GF-ers. Those people got wind of some celebrity types following the gluten-free diet and think the diet can aid in helping them lose weight. Trust me, it might help someone gain weight but it will not help most people lose weight unless they gained weight as a symptom of them having celiac disease. The trendy GF-ers are the first people to drop off the gluten-free diet because it’s much too complicated to learn for someone who doesn’t actually feel better eating gluten-free. If they gain weight as a by product of stocking up on gluten-free pasta, breads and bagels, they quickly find out the diet is not a feasible weight loss plan.

Last but not least, there are the people that choose to eat wheat-free or gluten-free because they think that wheat is not good for us as a species. Many of the people I’ve met who feel that way would not know if someone served them wheat or gluten because they don’t have symptoms like those with health issues do. At least that is what they told me. When I was told that a couple of places here offered gluten-free buckwheat pasta. They had a nice following for this so-called gluten-free pasta which in fact, was not gluten-free at all. Only people who can’t tolerate gluten got sick when they ate the pasta, prompting the restaurant managers and owners to investigate what was in the pasta. It was being sold by a fresh pasta company as gluten-free. It turned out to be made with half buckwheat pasta and half semolina WHEAT flour. Further proof that some people that eat gluten-free do not know the difference if they are served gluten or wheat. I spoke to one person who said they followed the gluten-free diet to be “healthier” and loved this buckwheat pasta. They had no idea that the pasta was made from wheat because they had no symptoms if they consumed wheat.

It doesn’t matter to me who is eating what as long as places that serve me know what they are doing in terms of gluten-free service. As far as food sales are concerned, the more gluten-free consumers the merrier. As long as a lot of people buy gluten-free foods, the more product choices we’ll have and at better prices. There are some people and homeopathic doctors that think as much as 30% of the U.S. population might be well served to avoid gluten. Gluten-free product sales indicate that 1 in 10 shoppers are buying gluten-free food for someone in their household, but there are no hard statistics on exactly how many people eat gluten-free in this country. Let’s hope the trend of gluten-free diet followers continues to grow and that the companies making the best food will survive and prosper.

You are reading The Many Faces of the Gluten-free Consumer. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

Besides knowing what was and was not gluten-free, what I personally needed was help feeling like an alien had not taken over my body – or my life for that matter. That’s where Danna’s book came in. I’ve met many people who are surprised that I truly am glad to be gluten-free. It’s not like I got the call from the doctor about my celiac diagnosis and started dancing in the streets. Far from it. Like most people, I went through stages of grieving. People that have not gone through it do not understand it’s not really about food at all. It’s mostly about not being able to live your life the way you always have. We have to eat to survive. Food is a big part of living and when you are on a restricted diet, it’s not always easy to do seemingly simple things that most people take for granted. It’s almost always easy for me now, but it certainly didn’t start out that way.

From understanding how to get friendly service when dining out to learning how to deal with kids who need to be gluten-free, Danna has all the bases covered in her gluten-free lifestyle guide. It’s helpful to know that packing gluten-free pancake mix in baggies might get you in trouble when traveling to some countries. Let’s see – it’s a white powdery substance in an unmarked plastic bag. Yes, that might create a bit of an issue with customs officers. Throughout the book, Danna’s stories about her family’s gluten-free journey will inspire readers to make the most of the gluten-free lifestyle.

Danna’s journey began when her infant son was diagnosed with celiac disease.  Luckily, Danna ignored the doctors who told her she was just an over anxious Mother. She persisted until she finally got the correct answer about what was really wrong with her very sick baby. Danna reports that she was sent down the hall to speak with a nutritionist. Danna had of course never heard of gluten before and she needed to know exactly what her son could eat. The piece of paper Danna was handed had a few things listed including obvious whole foods like fruit, nuts, meat and veggies – and Fritos corn chips. Yes – the snack was actually on the list back then.

Since Danna had no support group (no one did), she started R.O.C.K. (raising our celiac kids), which is still in existence today. She’ll never know the number of kids and families she’s helped by creating such a wonderful program.  Author of several books on the topic of gluten-free living, Danna continues to help our community so they can enjoy the lifestyle as much as she does. If you need help with gluten-free cooking, you might want to check out Gluten-Free Cooking for Dummies, which Danna co-authored with Connie Sarros.

Shelley Case, RD, Consulting Dietitian, had this to say about Danna. “Danna has been a real advocate for families with celiac disease. From writing books to developing ROCK groups across America, she is to be commended for her dedication to the celiac disease cause, making a major difference in the lives of so many”.

Due to the popularity of Danna’s Living Gluten-Free for Dummies book, the publisher asked her to write a second edition. It will come out this May. Also, Danna’s book, Gluten-Free Kids will be released in December 2010.

You are reading Book Review: Living Gluten-Free for Dummies. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

In the Atlanta area, we’ve had restaurants say they had gluten-free pizza and pasta that in fact, were not actually gluten-free. One pasta company started selling gluten-free pasta that was made with a blend of buckwheat flour AND semolina wheat flour. The restaurants buying the pasta had no idea it wasn’t actually gluten-free until it was too late. When a local pizza joint contacted me to ask that I try their gluten-free pizza, the manager actually didn’t know gluten could be in sauce or toppings like sausages. The pizza place got into the gluten-free pizza game because a restaurant distributor salesperson told the manager about gluten-free pizza crust. The manager was clearly taken aback as I inquired about toppings, dressing and sauces. She actually said “gluten is only in bread items, right?”. Wrong. The good news is that the pasta place did bring in truly gluten-free pasta and the pizza joint got informed eventually.

Because I love using normal recipes and just modifying them to be gluten-free I often check mainstream recipes websites for interesting dishes. Over at Recipe Zaar I tend to use “normal” recipes, but they have a decent selection of gluten-free recipes on the site. Every one I’ve checked out has indeed been gluten-free, though I didn’t review them all. Yahoo often lists recipes so recently, I decided to search “gluten-free” there to see what popped up. Almost 400 recipes appeared, but four out of five (that I checked) all called for wheat flour. None of the recipes seemed to give gluten-free ingredient modifications so it’s unclear why they popped up in the search at all.

Some companies that are trying to cater to our market mess up so it’s helpful for us to help them improve things when possible. While many companies or people that run them might not listen, it’s worth a try to help them out.  If we’re successful in our efforts, we’re not only helping the company, we’re helping ourselves and the gluten-free community at large. If people go out to eat and get sick from a so-called gluten-free meal, it’s fine to share that news with others. It’s even more helpful to let the restaurant that messed up know what happened. The restaurant can not improve things if they don’t know they did anything wrong.

When restaurants try to offer special gluten-free menu items like bread or pasta, we owe them our gratitude. If the products they choose to serve are not very good, the manager (or owner) usually appreciates knowing how they can make better choices going forward. When gluten-free consumers give constructive criticism to companies trying to cater to our market, they will likely affect those options in a positive way going forward. Chef “ABC” has no way of knowing that all gluten-free pastas are not created equal, for example.

The FDA clearly isn’t concerned about ruling on a gluten-free labeling law any time soon. Therefore, more and more companies are going to jump on the gluten-free gravy train. Some food companies and restaurants will get it right and others will try to make a fast buck on what they assume is a trendy diet that will eventually fade away. It’s up to gluten-free consumers to make a difference in the market. I’m not sure who said it, but one of my favorite sayings is “be part of the change you want to see in the world”. That idea can totally apply to the gluten-free market.

In the Atlanta area, gluten-free consumers yield a lot of power due to the large size of the gluten-free community. Unfortunately, most smaller areas are not in the same boat.  I hear from people from all over who can’t buy a gluten-free cookie, cracker, bagel or loaf of bread (inedible or otherwise) where they live. However, things are improving in some unexpected places. Recently, Three Guys from New York pizza in Tallahassee, FL began serving both gluten-free pizza (same crust as zpizza)  and beer. The company does not have a website but can be found through Trip Advisor. Bard’s Tale beer is currently selling at the pizza joint for only $3. Now that is something to celebrate!

You are reading Informed Consumers can Improve the Gluten-free Market. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

While browsing my favorite health food store recently, I noticed a very short box of Imagine soup. At least I assumed it was soup until I read the label and noticed that it was actually gravy. Both the Roasted Turkey and Savory Beef gravy boxes were clearly labeled gluten-free. How smart a product creation is that?! Now people can just take a box of gravy to holiday dinners or parties where turkey is served. Assuming the meat is gluten-free, one can just pour the gravy over the meat and not have to worry about making gravy for one. It’s great that many people love making their own gravy, but many people do not love it. They don’t want to worry about making gravy at all. Having a product like gravy in a box makes their lives easier in what can be a very stressful time of year.

In families where many people have celiac, the $.99 price for the Imagine gravy might not be cost effective, but for one person it’s definitely a bargain. Making good gluten-free gravy is something a lot of people struggle with. Since I never ate gravy when I ate gluten, this has never been a problem at our house. For some reason my husband was never into gravy either. Gravy is big in the South, though the most famous type is white pork gravy. I’m not sure if I like that type because I never got up the courage to try it. The look and smell of it is not even slightly appealing to me so I was never tempted to taste it.

When I started my gluten-free journey several years ago, there were several things I had to search for gluten-free versions of, but gravy wasn’t one of them. However, each year in early November, people new to gluten-free living start frantic internet searches to locate a recipe or product to make gluten-free gravy with. How wonderful it is that so many companies are making gluten-free versions of everything under the sun these days. Between Butterball reformulating their gravy packets to be gluten-free (now made with rice flour and gluten-free ingredients), and the ready-made gravies from Imagine Foods, gravy lovers will have no problems finding gravy when the holiday season rolls around again!

Let us know if you’re tried the Imagine gluten-free gravies, and if so, how they were!

You are reading Imagine Foods Offers Gluten-free Gravy. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.

• Kozy Shack puddings are labeled gluten-free and they are very low in fat. One serving size – from the 4-pack – has only 100 calories. The serving contains 6% RDA of iron, 10% RDA of Calcium,10% RDA of Vitamin D,12% FDA of fiber and only 2% RDA of fat. For a treat, that pudding is packing a pretty big nutritional punch. The fact that is also tastes great is also a plus, of course. Pudding does need to be kept cold so if eating on the run, it can be packed in a small insulated lunch bag.
• Archer Farms is the food brand at Target. Historically, the products in the line have been pretty difficult to get the gluten-free status on, but things are finally improving. The last item I checked on only took four hours to get an answer and some items can be confirmed immediately. The Pomegranate Real Fruit strips from Archer Farms are really a great gluten-free snack. They are made with organic ingredients, fat free and have only 45 per serving (one strip).
• Trader Joe’s sells 10 mini bags of plain almonds in a large bag. The bag retails for $4 in our area, making the cost per serving only $.40. Almonds are a healthy nut with healthy oils and a handful a day might help keep the doctor away. Though I don’t eat them every day, I try to eat some almonds several times a week. Sometimes I can find mini walnut bags at Trader Joe’s, but not often.
• Babybel Original mini cheeses contain 15% RDA of calcium and 5 grams of protein. One serving has only 70 calories even though it’s fairly small, it’s really filling. Each serving of the cheese is wrapped in a wax outer shell which allows for it to be kept out of the fridge for a while. That feature makes it ideal as a grab and go snack, assuming you are going to consume it within a couple of hours. Otherwise, you’d want to keep it in an insulated lunch bag.
• Andean Dream gluten-free vegan cookies are made with quinoa. Each individually wrapped cookie has 1 gram of fiber and 2 grams of protein. Quinoa, the main flour used in the cookies, is a super food and was rated the most nourishing grain in the world by the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. As cookies go, the coconut treats from Andean Dream are both tasty and good for you. The individually wrapped cookies do not contain soy, nuts, dairy or trans fats. The company uses Royal Quinoa in their products, which is found only in Bolivia.

Obviously, fresh fruit and veggies are whole food gluten-free snacks that are very healthy. However, those are not always easy or practical to eat on the run. Let us know what your favorite healthy gluten-free snacks are.

You are reading Quick and Healthy Gluten-free Snacks. This post is the property of Celiac-Disease.com © 2010.